Two regeneration schemes in cities in the north of England have won prestigious design awards. The Kings Waterfront development in Liverpool City Centre has received a national ‘Green Apple’ environmental award and Sheffield City Council has been awarded a prize for design excellence for its scheme to link the city centre and the railway station.

National regeneration agency, English Partnerships, won the Kings Waterfront award in recognition of the sustainability standards achieved during the completion of infrastructure works on site. The award is from the Green Organisation, which rewards environmental best practice around the world. The ‘Reclamation, Recycling and Regeneration’ award, given in the Building and Construction category, recognised the imaginative and creative use of materials and construction methods used in the six million pound infrastructure contract recently completed by Birse Civils Ltd. Materials from the site were reused and recycled and alternative specifications were sourced in a scheme that used local sub-contractors where that was possible.

The scheme is the single largest development site in Liverpool city centre. As well as English Partnerships and the City Council it is being promoted by Liverpool Vision, the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), and the European Objective One Programme. Catherine Turner, Senior Regeneration Manager at English Partnerships’ said, “Infrastructure is key to any development and at Kings Waterfront we worked closely with Birse to make sure that sustainability measures were built in from the very start. It’s therefore great to receive this award.”

In Sheffield meanwhile the city council set out to create a high-quality pedestrian route to give visitors a good impression of the city as they made their way from the Midland Station. The so-called ‘golden route’ includes fountains outside the City Hall, the Peace Garden and other architectural features and it has won the Public Realm category of the White Rose Awards for Design Excellence organised by the Royal Institute of British Architects. Councillor Robert MacDonald, spokesman for planning and regeneration, said, “Sheffield’s public spaces are second to none and this award commends the amazing areas we have created through the regeneration of the city centre.”

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